When one of Saudi Arabia’s leading Muslim leaders called this month for Muslims to avoid “passionate emotions and fiery enthusiasm” towards Jews, it was a marked change in tone for someone who has shed tears preaching about Palestine in the past.
The sermon by Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, broadcast on Saudi state television on September 5, came three weeks after the United Arab Emirates agreed upon a historic deal to normalise relations with Israel and days before the Gulf state of Bahrain, a close Saudi ally, followed suit.
Sudais, who in past sermons prayed for Palestinians to have victory over the “invader and aggressor” Jews, spoke about how the Prophet Muhammad was good to his Jewish neighbour and argued the best way to persuade Jews to convert to Islam was to “treat them well”.
While Saudi Arabia is not expected to follow the example of its Gulf allies any time soon, Sudais’s remarks could be a clue to how the kingdom approaches the sensitive subject of warming to Israel – a once inconceivable prospect. Appointed by the king, he is one of the country’s most influential figures, reflecting the views of its conservative religious establishment as well as the Royal Court.
The dramatic agreements with the UAE and Bahrain were a coup for Israel and US President Donald Trump who is portraying himself as a peacemaker before November elections.
But the big diplomatic prize for an Israel deal would be Saudi Arabia, whose king is the Custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and rules the world’s largest oil exporter.
‘Test public reaction’
Marc Owen Jones, an academic from the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Exeter, said the UAE and Bahrain’s normalisation has allowed Saudi Arabia to test public opinion, but a formal deal with Israel would be a “large task” for the kingdom.
“Giving the Saudis a ‘nudge’ via an influential imam is obviously one step in trying to test the public reaction and to encourage the notion of normalisation,” Jones added.
Sudais’ plea to shun intense feelings is a far cry from his past when he wept dozens of times while praying for Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque – Islam’s third-holiest site.
The September 5 sermon drew a mixed reaction, with some Saudis defending him as simply communicating the teachings of Islam. Others on Twitter, mostly Saudis abroad and apparently critical of the government, called it “the normalisation sermon”.
Ali al-Suliman, interviewed at one of Riyadh’s malls, said in reaction to the Bahrain deal that normalisation with Israel by other Gulf states or in the wider Middle East was hard to get used to, as “Israel is an occupying nation and drove Palestinians out of their homes.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the kingdom’s de-facto ruler, has promised to promote interfaith dialogue as part of his domestic reform. The prince previously stated that Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land on condition of a peace agreement that assures stability for all sides.
Saudi Arabia and Israel’s mutual fear of Iran may be a key driver for the development of ties.
There have been other signs that Saudi Arabia, one of the most influential countries in the Middle East, is preparing its people to eventually warm to Israel.
A period drama, “Umm Haroun” that aired during Ramadan in April on Saudi-controlled MBC television, a time when viewership typically spikes, centred around the trials of a Jewish midwife.
The fictional series was about a multi-religious community in an unspecified Gulf Arab state in the 1930s to 1950s. The show drew criticism from the Palestinian Hamas group, saying it portrayed Jews in a sympathetic light.
At the time, MBC said the show was the top-rated Gulf drama in Saudi Arabia in Ramadan. The show’s writers, both Bahraini, said it had no political message.
But experts and diplomats said it was another indication of shifting public discourse on Israel.
Earlier this year, Mohammed al-Aissa, a former Saudi minister and the general secretary of the Muslim World League, visited Auschwitz. In June, he took part in a conference organised by the American Jewish Committee, where he called for a world without “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism”.
“Certainly, MBS is intent on moderating state-sanctioned messages shared by the clerical establishment and part of that will likely work towards justifying any future deal with Israel, which would have seemed unthinkable before,” said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow with Chatham House.
Isolated Palestinians
Normalisation between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, signed at the White House on Tuesday, has further isolated the Palestinians.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has not directly addressed Israel’s deals with the UAE and Bahrain, but said it remains committed to peace on the basis of the long-standing Arab Peace Initiative.
Saudi Arabia, which does not recognise Israel, drew up the 2002 initiative by which Arab nations offered to normalise ties with Israel in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in 1967.
Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia to join the agreements to normalise diplomatic ties and forge a broad new relationship.
But Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the US president the Gulf country wanted to see a fair and permanent solution for the Palestinians first.
How, or whether, the kingdom would seek to exchange normalisation for a deal on the terms of Arab Peace Initiative remains unclear.
In another eye-catching gesture of goodwill, the kingdom has allowed Israel-UAE flights to use its airspace. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, who has a close relationship with MBS, praised the move last week.
A diplomat in the Gulf said for Saudi Arabia, the issue is more related to what he called its religious position as the leader of the Muslim world, and a formal deal with Israel would take time and is unlikely to happen while King Salman is still in power.
“Any normalisation by Saudi will open doors for Iran, Qatar and Turkey to call for internationalising the two holy mosques,” he said, referring to periodic calls by critics of Riyadh to have Mecca and Medina placed under international supervision.
